The Death of Lillian Hope Black
by Snapefan83
Summary: A young half witch half Guardian named Lillian Black, known to most as Hope, starts a job as an Auror at the Ministry of Magic, but soon finds her life has been turned up-side-down by a surprise encounter with someone from her past.
1. Chapter 1

**The Life and Death of Lillian Hope Black-Snape**

**Chapter One**

**Attack on her First Day**

Lillian Black,-called Hope by most of those that new her-whom had just finished school to become an Auror, was sitting outside of the Minister of Magic's office waiting on the decision that would change her life. Although she had always made O's on all her O.W.L.'s and top marks on all her N.E.W.T.'s at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, she was still unsure she would get the job as the newest Auror. She knew it was going to take more than just good grades to become an Auror and hoped that her other achievements might help her get this job that she had wanted for as long as she could remember.

She stared nervously at the solid white wall on the opposite side of the hallway as she sat in a brown wooden chair waiting for the Minister of Magic and others inside his office, to make their final decision. Every once in awhile someone witch or wizard would walk by; some notice her and inclined their head to her or just said a polite hello. She would say hello back to them or just smile a polite smile to the passersby. A few even stopped to chat for a moment and wished her good luck before getting back to wherever it was they had been heading.

"Miss Black," a man's voice came suddenly as the door to the Minister's office opened causing Hope to jump a little. "Please come in now. We have made our decision."

She recognized this man's voice as belonging to an Auror, a very well respected one at that. His name was Frank Longbottom and he hadn't been an Auror for very long either. She knew his wife, Alice, very well also. They were both very respected among the Wizarding community.

Hope looked up at him as she stood up and walked towards the door, feeling like she was about to walk in front of a firing squad with a blindfold on. As she walked past him she heard him whisper, "Don't be so nervous Hope."

"Easy for you to say," she mumbled back to him before adding a kind smile before entering the room.

She looked around the rather large room, noticing the four chairs in front of the Minster's large black oak desk that seemed to be covered in papers all over the top of it. There was a stone fireplace behind the Minister's large Victorian type oak finished chair. There were pictures on the all four walls of Ministers of the past and a few famous and well-known witches and wizards as well.

There were around ten others in the room besides the Minister. Hope recognized a few of them, including one particular Auror by the name of Alaster Moody, known to some as Mad Eye, who had his flask with him as he always did. Though he was looking at the Minister with his back towards her, she knew he could see her do to the fact that one of his eyes was an electric blue magical eye, slightly larger than his regular eye. It could spin around 380 degrees and could see through the back of his own head, through walls, most solid objects, and even through Invisibility Cloak (cloaks that makes the wearer unseen).

"Ah, yes, Miss Black," said the Minister, who had just notice her presence among them. "It seems you have an impressive resume and very good recommendations. Your recommendation letters from Albus Dumbledore and Professor Murchbank-who both speak very highly of you-are exceptional. We have gone over your records, including all your O.W.L.'s and N.E.W.T.'s, and we have come to a very unanimous decision." He paused for a moment as he watched her carefully, as if studying her reactions. Then he glancing at Moody as he said, "Alaster here has agreed to take you on as his partner you could say." He looked back at the very nervous Hope. "He will help you to get settled in and get started as our newest Auror. Congratulations."

Hope was stunned, her eyes widened as her mouth dropped open. She couldn't believe it she had gotten the job. "W-wow than...thank you sir," she finally managed to say as she tried to processes the Minister's words through her complete shock of what she had just heard. The realization of what was said wasn't hitting her completely just yet.

"Congratulations Hope," said Frank, with a smile, as he shook her hand. "Alice is going to be thrilled. Shall you be the one to tell her or shall I?"

"Yes congratulations, Miss Black," said Moody, now standing next to her.

"Please call me Hope," she said, still not over the shock of getting the job.

"Ah yes, I remember," he growled. Then Mad Eye looked at Frank. "Frank, show her to our office please."

"Yes Moody," replied Frank just before he ushered Hope out of the office, where they started to walk down the narrow hallway. Noticing the look on his friend's face that he knew all to well from times before back when she was younger and attending Hogwarts. "You know, Moody volunteered to help you get started and have you working beside him without anyone even suggesting or bringing it up. Just between us, that's saying a lot about what he thinks of you."

She smiled over at Frank as they arrived at Moody's-and now her-office. "You have no idea how happy I am to hear that Frank," she said finally. "I thought maybe that he had been picked and didn't really want to be my partner. I know he's not usually too thrilled about having someone else working with him like this. I just thought…"

"I know what you thought Hope," Frank said interrupting her knowing what his young friend was thinking and felt a change in subject was due. "So now who's going to be the one to tell Alice the good news?"

"You," Hope answered with a smile. "Tell her after you get home tonight. I want to be the one tell my brother, James, Lily, and Lupin first though."

"Of course," he said smiling back at her. "Sirius will be thrilled I am sure, as will the others be of course."

"I know," she replied with a giggle and walked over to take her seat at her new desk. She smiled even more thinking about what her brother's reaction would be. Although Sirius Black wasn't her real brother they still cared for each other as if they were blood related. His parents and took her in after her real parents were killed and she and Sirius became really close over the years. Although she was not as close with Sirius's younger brother she still cared for him as well despite his dark ways. Sirius mother had even gone as far to have Hope's last name changed to Black.

"Well, are you ready to get started?" Moody asked, causing her to and Frank both to jump a little. Though, by the sound in Moody's voice it felt more like a command than a question in Hope's opinion.

Frank gave Moody a nod and left the room as Hope answered with a simple, "Yes, sir."

"None of this 'sir' stuff," he growled. "You make me sound as if I'm too old for this job. Call me Alaster or Moody if you must. You know that by now."

"Sorry," she said with a slight frown feeling as though she had just made a bigger mistake than she really had. Her nerves were getting the better of her already.

"Don't worry," Moody said. "Now for your first day I won't start you out with anything to difficult. We will start you off by you joining me at the Leaky Cauldron to meet a wizard who _claims_ to have information on a Death Eater."

"Okay," Hope replied, listening closely to what Moody was saying. They Disaparated out of the office and Apparated into the backroom of the Leaky Cauldron were the meeting was to take place.

A tall man wearing a dark brown cloak was waiting on them. "I thought you'd forgotten," the man said in a deep-almost bone chilling voice-but then his voice changed to more of a mix of angry and surprised voice as he added, "Who's that?" He then proceeded to point at Hope.

"_This_ is my new partner," growled Moody, sounding a little more than impatient. "This is her first day as an Auror so I thought this would be a good start for her. So you say you have some information for me." He wanted to get right to the point of why they were there.

The man laughed evilly, giving Hope a sudden bad feeling that she and Moody had just stepped into something they hadn't bargained for, as he said, "Old man do you really think that I would tell you anything? I just said that to get you here-" He looked Hope over from head to toe. "-alone or so I thought." He then looked back at Moody. "Nevertheless, she doesn't look like much of a _threat_ anyway."

When he looked at Hope again she felt as if something cold ran over her body. His eyes, she noticed, as she looked at him were dark, cold, and with an empty soul. Nothing was there as he stared at her, nothing but darkness. It gave her an uneasy feeling that her hand went into her dark blue cloak and gripped her wand tightly. She glared at the man for she HATED how he said she didn't "look like much of a _threat_" it mad her angry inside. Those words rang in her ears.

It was at that moment that Hope had noticed two other men Apparated into the room wearing masks. Hope recognized them instantly as the mask that the Lord Voldemort's followers wore. She immediately grabbed her wand as one of the Death Eaters in the masks said, "Thought you said only one would be here. Who's the girl?"

Moody had already sent a spell towards the man whom they had came to meet, but he moved out of the way just as a second before it would have hit him.

"Cruc-" one of the masked Death Eaters began, but Hope had already sent the full body bind curse at him and he fell to the floor before he could finish the Unforgivable Curse.

The other masked Death Eater seeing this shot a hex at Hope, as Moody dueled with the other man still. Hope dodged the hex by just a few inches as she shouted, "Expelliarmas!" causing his wand to fly out of his hand knowing that it was such a simple move to make that it would be unexpected to most. She quickly, before the masked Death Eater could reach his wand, shouted, "Stupefy!" This, however, caused the man to fall back into the wall hitting his head and knocking him out, not something normal for this kind of spell but with Hope's "special" powers, some of her spells where much stronger than they normally would be.

She looked over at Moody to make sure he was doing okay, not realizing, at first, that the spell on the other Death Eater had worn off. She turned around sensing movement behind her, her wand still pointed out in front of her. "IMPEDIMENTA!" she yelled, freezing the Death Eater with his wand half raised at her.

The other man, who had been dueling with Moody, ran towards this fellow Death Eater grabbing on to one but not being able to get to the unconscious one laying on the floor still. He Disaparated with the Death Eater nearest to him while leaving the other one behind on the ground.

"That was some very good fighting you just did," Moody said with a smile as he surveyed the unconscious Death Eater at his feet, knowing what Albus had told him about the young women's powers, never seeing it for himself until now. He bent down and removed the man's mask. "Lon Vestra! I should have known he had become a Death Eater. Let's get him back to the Ministry." It was always the shy ones you had to watch out for.

Later that night after she got off work, Hope walked up the steps to her brother's home, where she was staying until she could get a place of her own. She opened the door looking rather exhausted as she entered the living room.

"She's home," James yelled as he and Lupin stood up, but Peter however, remained seated. It was at James' words that Lily came running into the living room.

"Sirius will be in here in a minute," Lily replied smiling at Hope as she looked at her friend with her green eyes.

"Well?" said a voice from behind her.

"Well what?" she replied back frowning as she turned around.

"Don't 'Well what?' me," Sirius said smiling at his little sister. "Did you get the job or not?"

His smile now turned to a frown as James spoke to Hope, "If I know you as well as I know I do, I'd say you got it."

She turned to face James-who was like an older brother to her too, as was Remus Lupin-and smiled sheepishly at him as she replied, "Then you my dear friend would be correct."

"WHAT?" Sirius said, sounded overly excited. "You got the job?"

"Mhmm," she said with a nod and holding back a giggle. "I did."

"I knew you would get it Stripes," he said as he picked his sister up off the floor and spun her around.

"Put me down right now Padfoot!" she demanded with a little bit of a scream.

He did as his sister wished and put her back down, her feet now flat on the floor. "See I knew you would," he said as James, Lupin, and Lily all came over to them.

"Stripes an Auror," James said surveying her. "Well, I must say… I saw that one coming a long time ago. No Death Eater will stand a chance now with you as Auror and Order member."

"You've been telling me that since I was at Hogwarts," Hope replied with laugh remember back to the first time she ever dueled against him. She then let go of her brother to hug James.

"You should listen to me more often then," he laughed before letting go of her.

"Shut up Prongs," she laughed before she turned to Remus.

"I'm very proud of you," said Lupin as he hugged her.

"I knew you would be Moony," she replied with a smile as she let go of him. He smiled back at her as he moved out of Lily's way.

"The third Auror of our group," Lily said beaming at her. Lily and she had become more than best friends, almost like sisters, more and more every day.

"Yep, you, James, and now me," she said with a smile. Lily hugged Hope and then smiled as she stood beside James.

"Congratulations," murmured Peter as he grabbed his coat to leave.

"And where do you think you're goin'?" asked Sirius. "The party's just about to get started." Knowing he was now getting a look from Hope when he mentioned the party.

"I have to run some errands pretty early in the morning," he answered as he put his coat on and headed for the door and stopped for a moment as he added, "Besides I'm sure _she_ doesn't want me here anyway."

"Why wouldn't she?" asked Sirius. "You're one of our best friends."

"No, one of your friends Sirius, not hers," he replied with a glance in Hope's direction.

"Of course I don't mind if you stay," Hope said looking at him. She knew she was lying, but he was one of her brother's best friends so she wanted to be nice. Truth was she had never really liked him much. She had never fully trusted him for some reason. There was just something about him she didn't or couldn't trust, but what it was she didn't know.

"See, she wants you to stay," James stated, even though he knew the truth, but he wanted his friend to stay anyway. He had known since back when they were at Hogwarts when Hope first confided in him that there was something about Peter that gave her the creeps and the feeling of untrustworthy when around him.

"I better get going," he said then added, "But maybe I'll come by some other time to celebrate with you guys."

"Alright," Sirius said, though there was a hint of disappointment in everyone's eyes, except for Hope's. After he heard the door close behind Peter he said, "I believe Alice and Frank will be here soon, along with a few of the Order members."

"Is there a Meeting tonight?" Hope asked. She hadn't remembered there being one and she was one that usually remembered. She had been a member of the Order of the Phoenix since her 17th birthday.

"No," her brother replied with a soft laugh. "We're celebrating your new job."

"Wait a minute," she said glaring at him when the words left his mouth. "When did you set this party up? Did someone tell you I got the job before I did? Did Frank tell you?"

"No, no one said a thing," he answered looking rather mischievous as he looked at her. "I knew you had to get the job, I mean they'd be crazy not to hire you! You're one of the best witches there is. I don't like to admit it, but you're stronger than me and James both and always have been." It was sad but true, although they had taught her everything they knew, she was still a stronger witch and a much faster learner than Sirius at times. "I have been planning this since you told me you applied."

"You're crazy do you know that Padfoot?" she said with a laugh as she hugged him around the waist again just before they heard a knock at the door.

"Come in," Sirius said, practically yelling knowing who it was already.

"Where is she," a woman's voice said from the entryway.


	2. Chapter 2:

**The Life and Death of Lillian Hope Black-Snape**

**Chapter Two**

**Friends and a good game of Wizards Chess**

"In here, Alice," replied Lupin, still smiling.

"Congratulations!" Alice said as she ran and hugged Hope almost immediately. "I told Frank they'd be crazy not to hire you and I'm so glad they did!"

"Thanks, Alice," Hope said laughing at what her friend said as she hugged her back.

"Frank told me as soon as he got home," Alice explained. "I didn't even give him time to change. I told him we had to get here as soon as we could." She looked at Hope proud that there was another Auror in their group.

Frank Longbottom entered the living room followed by Moody, Gideon Prewett and his brother Fabin, Marlene, McKinnon, Didalus Diggle, Sturgis Padmore, Dorcus Meadows, and the last to enter was Albus Dumbledore.

They all smiled as they entered the living room and told Hope congratulations as they walked past her. Fabian put a hand on her shoulder and smiled as he entered the living room. He and his brother had been secretly helping her train for the last two years whenever they had any free time on their hands. Marlene had brought Hope some flowers she had picked from her garden and handed them to her as she entered the house. Sturgis patted her gently on her shoulder as he walked through. However Dumbledore-being the last to enter-stopped in front of her.

"Congratulations," he said with a smile.

"Thank you Professor," she replied smiling back at him.

"How many times do I have to tell you, you're not in school anymore so no more of this professor stuff," he replied still beaming at her.

"Sorry Prof…" she began to say, but stopped herself and smiled. "I mean Albus."

"Now that's better," he said with a soft laugh. Then with a grin he added, "Moody tells me the two of you had a very exciting and unexpected day"

"You can say that again," Moody said walking over to them.

"What happened?" asked Sirius looking like the concerned older brother now.

Seeing the look on Sirius' face, Hope said, "It was nothing ad if you're going to go all overprotective of me every time I have to fight someone, you got another thing coming. I am an Auror now and I will be in a lot of dangerous situations from now on. So get over it."

"Yeah I know," he replied grumpily, but with a slight smile. "You're like a little sister to me and one of my best friends. It's my job to worry about you." Then turning to Moody he said, "Well, Mad-Eye, you gonna tell me what happened since I know she won't?"

"She proved she is going to be a great Auror if not, the greatest I've seen in a long time," growled Moody, avoiding the question somewhat.

Hope blushed then said, "I'm not ever going to be as great as you are Moody."

"The way you fought both of those Death Eaters today by yourself, while I was fighting that little trader, you will be," stated Moody. Then he looked at James, Lily, and the others. "I didn't want to make her go straight into any major situations yet. I decided to take her with me to meet a friend, who claimed he had some inside information on a couple of Death Eaters. I figured that would be safe enough for her first day on the job. However, after we got there, it surprised him when he saw Lillian with me."

"Please, Moody, its Hope," she said correcting him. She had never really cared much about being called Lillian. It had always been her middle name that almost everyone had called her since she was a baby.

"Oh yes sorry," growled Moody with warm smile in her direction. "I forgot you don't like to be called Lillian." Then turning his attention back to the others he went on with the story. "I asked him for the information, but it was just a lie to get me there to trap me so it would seem. Two masked Death Eaters showed up. Hope here took both of them at once while I was busy with the other. She knocked one of them out when she caused him to the wall. However the traitorous rat and the other masked Death Eater got away after a good fight. When I unmasked the one they left behind…it was Lon Vestra."

"What?" replied Sirius and James at the exact same moment in shock, stunned at what they had just heard. Lon had been in Gryffindor with them, but a year behind them. He had always seemed like such a good person. They all stood there in silence for several minutes.

"You mean that shy skinny guy that was in our house?" asked Lily finally, trying to get everything straight. "The one that was a year or so behind us?"

"That's the one," answered Hope before Moody had a chance.

"I don't believe it," Lily said as she looked over at James.

Later that night they were all sitting around in the living room after eating the huge dinner Lily had made for them. Most had left, with the exceptions of James, Lily, Lupin, Dumbledore, Alice, Frank, Gideon, Fabin, and Dorcus, along with Sirius and Hope of course.

"Moody taking Hope on as a partner was his idea," Frank told James as they sat talking.

"I think it was smart of him," said Lily, who had been discussing dragons with Lupin, Gideon, and Dorcus just a moment before.

"He seems proud of her that's for sure," James pointed out as he looked over at Hope, who was playing a game of Wizards Chess with Sirius and talking to Dumbledore, Frank, Alice, and Fabin, who were watching them play. "The way he kept going on tonight about how great she did today, you'd think he was talking about his own daughter or something."

"Well, she is smart and extremely gifted," added Lily with a smile.

"She did learn how to transform herself into an animal faster than you and Sirius," Lupin stated as he smirked proudly in James direction. "Not to mention the fact that she can out fly you on a broom any day of the week when she wants."

"Don't remind me," laughed James. He didn't mind that Hope could fly better than he could when she really tried, after all he had been the one to teach her how to fly in the first place, and that was something she always pointed out whenever anyone would compliment her on her flying skills. 'James taught me everything I know,' she would always say proudly and with a warm smile.

At that moment they heard Hope say from across the room, "That's checkmate big brother. I win again." She was smiling at Sirius from over the small table they kept their Wizards Chess board on.

"Hey Padfoot, haven't you learned yet, you're not going to beat her at Wizards Chess. She's too good," Lily said jokingly to Sirius, who was looking at the chessboard in shock.

Everyone laughed at Lily's joke except Sirius, even though he knew it was probably true. Then he smiled and jokingly said back to Lily, "You'd think I would learn by now wouldn't you, but you know how stubborn I can be."

James got up and walked over to them. "Care if I play you a game Stripes?" he asked Hope calling her by the nickname they had given her years before just after she finally fully transformed into an animal, a white tiger to be more exact.

Sirius stood up so that James could have his seat. This was going to be a good match and he knew it.

"Of course I don't care," replied Hope with a smile. Then looking at Sirius she jokingly added, "I could go for a game with someone who _actually_ knows how to play."

"I know how to play I thank you very much," laughed Sirius as he pulled up a chair to watch James and Hope.

The game went on for over three hours when James finally looked over at Hope. "Checkmate," he said with grin. It was now after 2:30 in the morning and most had fallen asleep or had left.

Lily had fallen asleep on the couch while Lupin was watching James and Hope play as was Sirius and Fabin, but Gideon had fallen asleep in a small chair by the fireplace with a book in his lap. Dorcus was reading a book titled "The World Beyond Everyday Magic" in the other chair next to the fireplace. The others had said their goodbyes two hours before the game had ended.

"It's about time," said Hope with a smile. "That was a fun and exciting game though."

"I agree," Lupin said as he stood up to stretch. "I didn't think it was ever going to end."

"To be honest about it, neither did I," said James with a laugh as he stretched his legs out. "I think we should call it a night. Some of us need to get up early."

"Isn't that the truth," laughed Hope. "Should we wake the others up or let them sleep?"

"Lily can sleep on the couch she already has a pillow and blanket," answered Sirius. Then he looked at Fabin. "Gideon and you can stay the night as well if you don't feel like going home. You can sleep in the guest room."

"Just let him sleep in the chair it will teach him to fall asleep during a good game of Wizards Chess," replied Fabin as he glanced over at his brother. "I think I'll head on out though."

"If you're sure," Sirius said with a shrug before turning his attention to Dorcus. "What about you?"

Dorcus-now standing beside James-yawned before saying, "I'm going to head on home I think, but that was a very good game of Wizards Chess."

Hope hugged Fabin bye before turning to Sirius. "I'm going on up to bed," she replied. "I'm pretty worn out from such a long day."

"Okay, goodnight," replied Sirius as he placed a blanket over Gideon.

"Great game," James said to Hope as he ruffled her hair playfully. "Sleep well."

"I will and goodnight James," she said with a yawn before heading up the stairs to her nice cozy warm bed that awaited her there.


	3. Chapter 3

**The Life And Death of Lillian Hope Black-Snape**

**Chapter Three**

**What else could she have done?**

Weeks had gone by with not as much excitement at work as her first day had been, but Hope was making the best of it. Moody had her doing mostly paperwork stuff for the most part when they weren't sent somewhere by the Minister. She took a drink of her coffee as she sat the _Daily Prophet_ down on the desk before taking her seat.

Since Alaster was not there yet, she decided to skim through the paper to see if there was any thing new, but she was finding it disappointing as she saw the same things printed as they had been printing for weeks now. Just one article on something good and happy was all she was looking for. Just one bit of good news was all she really wanted to see.

She sighed heavily as she set her coffee back down on her desk and tossed the paper aside. Was it to much to wish for just a little happiness during this war that had been destroying everything and everyone? Her attention was pulled back to her job when she saw Alaster walking towards her with two others beside him; she noted how unhappy Alaster looked and wondered what was going on.

"Hope, this is Mike Hatchfeild and Amelia Bones," he said introducing them. "The Minister wants you to go with them on patrol. Hatchfeild is one of the top Aurors and will be in charge of your mission today. I have some other things to do for the Minister, but I will meet up the three of you later."

"Hello," she said them as she stood up and watched Alaster closely. "It's a pleasure to meet you both." Hope had seen both of them around, but had never really talked to either of them, although she knew Amelia's brother.

"We should get going now Miss Black," Hatchfeild replied. "The Minister wanted us to leave as soon as possible."

As Hope walked past Moody, he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Be careful and keep your wand at hand at _all_ times," he said to her in an undertone so that she was the only one to hear. "I will meet up with you as soon as I can." He didn't like the idea of her being on patrol like this without him there. It wasn't as though he doubted Hatchfeild's skills or Amelia's but it still worried him.

"We are to Apparate to this address," Hatchfeild informed Hope as he handed her a sheet of parchment with the address written down on it. "From there I will you give you your orders, understand?"

Hope nodded her head once as she looked down at the paper and satisfied with her answer Hatchfeild Disapparated followed quickly by Amelia after she looked at Hope. Hope, using one of her special powers, transported herself just a moment after.

"Now that we're all here," Hatchfeild began. "We are to patrol the streets in this area looking for anything out of the ordinary or suspicious. We will each take a section at a time. Then we will meet up after a few blocks and then repeat the same process throughout the day. If any of us gets into trouble send up red sparks and the other two will know where to find you. Understood?"

Both Hope and Amelia nodded and replied, "Yes sir." at the same time.

"Good," he replied, satisfied with their response. "Amelia, you will go that way." he pointed to towards his left. "Hope you will go down this street." He point towards his right. "And I will go down the street in front of us."

They both nodded again, but Hope wasn't to fond of patrolling alone having not been an Auror for that long. She only hoped that nothing would go wrong. It was bad enough she and Moody had been attack on her very first day; she didn't want a repeat of that.

"We'll meet up in a few blocks," he said to them. "From there you will report anything to me and then we'll start again. We'll meet up after you circle around the two blocks and meet down there." He pointed down the street where he knew they would end up meeting. He decided to take the longer routes and give them the shorter ones. Alaster would have his head if anything happened to Hope on his watch.

After he briefed them, they each went on their way. Hope had turned around a few times and once they others were out of view she became a little more nervous, but tried not to let it show; she needed to focus on everything going on around her.

She found it odd now muggles seemed not as worried as the wizarding world even with all the deaths that had been going on in their world. It was as though nothing bad was happening, even though Hope knew better. _It must be nice not to worry_, Hope thought to herself, as she saw a happy couple walking down the street holding hands and giggling.

So far, she wasn't sensing anything magical in the area or anything strange. She had a feeling that this was going to be a very long day. It was no wonder so many of the other Aurors had been complaining about patrolling; it was boring. She smiled at a couple of muggles she passed who smiled at her. She saw nothing wrong with muggles and in all honesty, she liked most of the ones she had meet over the years.

When she turned the corner, she saw an elderly muggle woman sweeping her front steps off and a small dog running around the yard. She couldn't help but smile again as she watched the dog chasing a butterfly. Again, she was sensing nothing and so she continued on her way.

She could see in the distance, Amelia walking towards their meeting spot, but she focused on things going on around her. "Have you seen anything?" she asked when she and Amelia were standing face-to-face waiting for Mike to meet up with them.

"Nothing unusual at all," she said so that only Hope could hear her. "What about you?"

"Same," she answered before looking around for Mike again. "Have you ever patrolled before?"

"A few times," Amelia answered and then added, "It's pretty boring when nothing is going on." She smiled when Hoped looked at her. "Most of us have felt like that on the first day. It's nothing to be ashamed of; we've all been there."

"Better boring than having to deal with anything bad," replied Mike as he finally walked up to the girls.

"I agree," Hoped said. "It's just my first time patrolling; I didn't know what to expect."

"It's alright," he answered. "You don't have to explain. All of us who have been patrolling have felt it and I won't lie, it gets more boring the longer you've been doing it like I have." He then turned their attention to why they were there. "Can I guess that neither of you saw anything unusual or magical?"

Both girls nodded. "The only things magical I have sensed has been the two of you," added Hope, forgetting for a moment that they probably didn't know about her "other" powers.

_So, what they've been saying about her is true_, Mike thought to himself as he looked at the young witch. "It seems you will be quite useful to us today after all," he said and then wanted to slap himself for how that had come out. "I didn't mean it like that. I just meant that you being a new Auror I was worried it might be to soon for you to patrol." He needed too quickly change the subject before he put his foot in his mouth any father. "You will let me know if you do sense anyone other than us, right?"

"Of course I will," she answered. "Don't worry about it. I understand what you meant. To be honest I was a little worried about patrolling for the same reason."

He smiled at her. Everyone had told him how sweet she was; and it seemed that they were indeed correct again about her. "Good," he replied. "Now we should go out again. This time we'll meet up two blocks down that way." He pointed across the street. "Amelia you to the left and come around and I'll go to the right. Hope, since you are the newest; I will let you go straight down the street to meet up with us. You might have to wait for us, but I know you will be fine." He then turned his attention to back both girls. "Remember red sparks if any of you get into any kind of trouble."

It seemed a lot shorter this time having just walked straight down the two blocks. She decided to sit on a bench at a muggle bus stop to look as though she was waiting on a bus while waiting for Amelia and Mike to meet up with her. She make sure to keep focusing on anything out-of-the-ordinary or magical. Yet again when the three meet up, they had seen and noticed nothing unusual just as before. It went on like that for most of the day, but now they were check back alleys as well as the main streets the closer it got to lunchtime.

Hope watched a small child holding his mother's hand pulling her towards an candy story, but the mother wasn't budging. "Pweese mama," she heard the little boy say, but the mother just shook her head no as they walked on. Part of her suddenly missed not having her mother around, but she shook that thought from her mind as she turned a corner smashing right into someone.

"I am so sorry," she replied as she got to her feet. "I wasn't watching where I…" She trailed off as she looked at the person she had walked into. He hadn't changed much since their days at Hogwarts and she recognized him at once. "Snape," she mumbled. "What are you doing here?" She tried to avoid looking into his eyes as she spoke to him.

He glared at her. "I could ask you the same question," he snapped. He too recognized the young witch from their days at Hogwarts and was not the least bit thrilled to see her of all people; could have been worse for him though, it could have been Potter.

"I asked you first," she replied.

He studied her for a moment. "I live just down the street if you must know. Why are you walking around alone? Don't you know it's dangerous to be walking around in the open like this especially alone?"

Hope huffed at his last remark. "I'm an Auror," she pointed out; as if that really answered either of his questions. "I didn't know any wizards lived in this area."

"Very few do and I liked it that way," he said grouchily. _An Auror?_ he thought to himself as he looked her over again. _No surprise there. _"I would like to get home sometime today if you don't mind; unless you have more irrelevant questions for me?"

She glared at him again. He seriously hadn't changed since school, still gave her the same attitude he did back then. _I bet if Lily was around he wouldn't be acting so rude_, she thought to herself feeling the same old feeling as she did when they were in school. "No I don't have anymore questions for you," she snipped back at him. "I will have to tell the other Aurors that I saw you and that you live nearby," she pointed out, but why she told him that, she was unsure.

"Whatever," he said as he walked past her.

How was it that he always seemed too get to her like this; she could feel her anger rising just like the "old days". _Calm yourself Lillian Hope_, she told herself as she began walking more swiftly. Ever since school, he had this way of making her feel angry and annoyed in ways no one else ever did and for some reason that bothered her. She tired to push him out of her mind as she walked on.

She smiled when she looked up and saw Mike and Amelia waiting on her. They seemed relieved to see her. "Sorry," Hope replied right away.

"Did you run into trouble?" asked Mike right away. He had been praying nothing had gone wrong or else Moody would give him hell when he found out and that was the last thing he wanted. He noticed she seemed a little annoyed.

"Not really," she replied and Mike's eyes relaxed. "I ran into someone I knew from Hogwarts though." She noticed that both Amelia and Mike looked at each other and then back at her. "He used to be friends with Lily Evans actually."

"Who was it?" asked Mike after looking at Amelia again as if they were sharing some thoughts unknown to Hope.

"Severus Snape," she answered. "He lives nearby apparently."

Her answer seemed to spark something in Mike who gave Amelia another look. They couldn't risk a fight with Hope here, not after what happened on her first day and the hell Moody raised over it to the Minister of Magic. They couldn't go through something like that again.

"I didn't sense that he was up to anything so I wasn't too worried about him," she replied, thinking that might be what they seemed worried about.

"In that case lets just keep patrolling and meet up again, but this time if anyone else shows up I don't care who they are, I want you to send up light blue sparks," he said to her. "Understand? No matter _who_ it is."

"Okay," she said as she looked at him feeling a little confused.

After he pointed out which way for them to go, he waited for Hope to be out of earshot when he looked at Amelia. "I want you to stay close by," he instructed her. "I'm going to go have a word with Snape, but I want her as far from danger as we can get her. If anything goes wrong you and I can handle it."

Amelia nodded, understanding where he was going with this. She didn't like keeping Hope out of the loop, but she trusted that Mike knew what he was doing so she followed his lead.

However, Hope could feel something wasn't right as she walked down the street; as if something was going to happen. She couldn't quite figure out what was going on between the looks Amelia and Mike were giving each other, but for some reason it made her feel uneasy.

She tried hard to shake the feeling as she turned the corner, but she couldn't no matter how hard she tried. The feeling was growing stronger as she something told her to follow her instincts. She stopped at the corner and looked down the street she was supposed to go and then down the one that seemed to be pulling at her. She took a deep breath and walked quickly down the street, heading almost back to where she had been before.

Her hand gripped her wand. _Something's not right_, she thought to herself as the feeling grew even strong. Hope turned down a slightly dark alley sense three magical people in that direction. She stopped where no one could see her, but within hearing distance.

"What are you doing here Snape?" asked Mike.

"I live nearby," he answered calmly. "I've already told your other Auror. She was satisfied with that."

"Well we're not," Mike replied. "You know you shouldn't be walking around in the open like this." He looked Severus over. "Unless you're _up_ to something? We know you're friends with known Death Eaters like Lucius Malfoy."

Severus huffed. "You're point?"

"If I were to guess I would bet you are one too," retorted Mike.

"So the Ministry is assuming anyone that has ever been friends with anyone that turned out to be a Death Eater, is a Death Eater now?" Severus asked coldly not sounding the least bit amused.

"We should take him in for questioning," Hope heard Amelia say. What the bloody hell were they getting at? Hope wondered as her mind drifted to her good friend. Lily had been friends with Severus in school, but that didn't make her a Death Eater. So how could they assume the same thing with Severus? So what if he was friends with Malfoy, what did that matter? The Ministry was starting to get a little _to_ paranoid now. Next thing she knew they would accuse her and Lily of being Death Eaters because of their connection with Severus. _Stupidity_, Hope thought to herself.

"I haven't done anything wrong," Snape pointed out.

"Resisting being taken in for questioning," replied Mike. "That's enough for us to taking you."

"You've lost your bloody minds," he stated. "I'm not going anywhere; I haven't done anything wrong to be taken in."

"We will use force if we have too," Mike warned him. Hope looked around the corner, Mike and Amelia had their wands pointed at Severus. She looked at both of Snape's hands, neither hand held a wand.

She heard Mike cast a spell and she looked around the corner again, Mike and Amelia had their backs to her; she say Mike's spell almost hit Severus.

"That was a warning spell," Mike replied. "Now are going to go with us willingly or do we have to take you in by force?"

_This is so wrong_, Hope thought to herself as she thought what if that was Lily they were going after because of who she had been friends with. This thought seemed to anger Hope and she gripped her wand as she turned the corner, both Mike and Amelia's backs still to her.

Hope sent a spell at flying through the air before anyone even knew she was there.


	4. Chapter 4

urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags**The Life And Death of Lillian Hope Black-Snape**

**Chapter Four**

**Lies she had to tell.**

"What the bloody hell are you doing Hope," snapped Severus as the two other Aurors feel to the ground.

"Saving _your_ bloody ass," Hope said with a glare. "You were unarmed and they were going to attack you."

"Do you realize what you've just done?" he asked looking at her.

"Yes I do," she replied as she knelt down between the two Aurors.

"This is just going to make me look even guiltier to them now," he pointed out.

She smiled up at him, but didn't say a word at first.

"Is that want you want? To make me look guiltier?" he asked glaring down at her. He wouldn't put that past a friend Potters.

She looked up at him and glared. "You're a bloody idiot Severus," she replied. "After everything you and Lily went through in school do you honestly think I would stand back and let someone she cared about be wrongly attack?" She saw the answer in his eyes.

"Well you are friends with Potter," he snapped. _How dare her use Lily to justify herself to me_, he thought to himself. "Reckless and never thinking…"

"Well that proves how _little_ you know about me," she snapped back, her hands waved gently over Amelia and Mike. "I always think before I act, well most of the time, but just so you know I had a plan."

Severus watched her and wondered what she was doing. Perhaps she wasn't… No, he would not let himself think any other way about her; she was still a friend that Potter's _and_ Black's.

"I want you to go back and stand where you were before I cast the spell," she ordered him and seeing was about to protest she glared at him. "Just do it if you don't feel like going down the Ministry to answer a bunch of questions."

He sighed and stepped back to where he had been standing moments before. He kept his eyes on the young Auror, unsure if he fully trusted her.

She waved her wand over both of them so they were both now standing. She moved them so they were standing the way they had been before she had knocked them out. She saw Severus looking at her. "It's a freezing spell, it allows me to freeze people and then place them however I want before unfreezing them," she explained. "It's a spell I made up sometime ago." Once she was satisfied with how they were positioned, she turned to look at Severus. "I don't believe in what they were doing. Hell, if they are going to accuse everyone that was known or been friends with someone who supports the dark side then Lily and I both would be screwed and I wouldn't want that to _ever_ happen to her and I know she would feel the same about me. Besides that, you were unarmed and in my eyes, it's wrong to attack someone who is unarmed."

He couldn't lie to himself, he was a little impressed by not only her reasons behind what she did or how well she seemed to have thought things out so quickly, but her skills as well. He had known her in school and knew she was different, but she had been friends with "them" which made him despise her.

She turned to him once more. "Look when they come to, which won't be long, I won't be here," she explained. "I'm beginning to see that they don't want me involved in any dueling after what happened before. So, I'm going to lead them away from here by making them thinking I'm in trouble by sending up red sparks far enough away that they both will leave you be to come "save" me. They won't think any time has gone by so make sure you play it as if no time has passed or else everything I've done would have been for nothing."

"Thank you," he replied before she could leave. That pained him to say, but the words left his mouth before he could even attempt to stop them.

Hope smiled at him before disappearing just seconds before Amelia and Mike came too.

"Well, what will it be?" asked Mike.

Severus opened his mouth to speak when he noticed red sparks in the distance.

Mike and Amelia followed his gaze and their eyes grew wide as they both feared the worst, Hope was in trouble. "Must be your lucky day Snape," replied Mike. "But don't think this is the end." He and Amelia look off in the direction of the red sparks.

Severus stood there for a moment feeling a little stunned at everything that just happened. Perhaps Hope wasn't so bad after all. He grimaced when he realized this meant he owed her now. He walked off towards his home as he pushed it out of his mind.

"Hope are you okay?" asked Mike and Amelia as they ran up to her.

"I..I'm sorry," she replied as she turned to them with a scared look in her eyes. Her hands where shaking a little. "When you guys didn't make it on time I thought I would check some more areas out and I thought I felt someone following me when I came down this way." She paused and looked at the frozen mouse behind a rubbish bin. "I sent up sparks and then shot a freezing spell in the direction I thought the person was. I feel really bad." She said as she pushed a bag out of the way so that Mike and Amelia could see what it was. "I guess I was just being a little jumpy. I'm so sorry."

Mike sighed with relief. "The important thing here is that _you_ are okay."

"Yeah," agreed Amelia.

Hope smiled at both of them, as others seemed to join them. "Is everyone okay?" asked an Auror, who was pushed out of the way by a familiar face.

"What happened here?" growled Moody.

Hope blushed as she pushed moved so that the newcomers could see the rat.

"We were late meeting up with Hope," Mike began to explain. "I guess it made her a little uneasy being alone and she thought someone was following her."

"I'm sorry I scared everyone," she said looking embarrassed.

"We're just happy no one was following you," replied Amelia and a few of the other Aurors nodded their head in agreement.

"It helped us to find you at least," stated Moody. "Your shift is over; the three of you need to get back the Ministry right away." Something told him more was going on here than Hope was saying.

"But.." Mike began but fell quiet when Moody gave him a look. Perhaps telling him they had left Hope alone _hadn't_ been the best strategy after all. He would inform the Minister about having seen Severus Snape when they got back to the Ministry.

Hope fell down on the couch when she finally got home. Moody had her doing so much paperwork when they had gotten back to the Ministry that she thought she would never get it all done.

"Hard day?" asked James as he and Sirius entered the living room.

"You could say that," she answered not daring to move.

"We were going to have Peter transform and run in here, but we were afraid he might hex him," laughed Sirius.

Hope sat up giving him a look.

"Don't get mad," James said with a laugh.

"Who the bloody hell told you?" she said angrily.

"Moody, but it was only after I heard him telling Dumbledore you gave him a scare again today," Sirius pointed out hoping that might calm her down.

"Great," she mumbled.

"You know we had to tease you," James pointed out as he sat down beside her. "But that's not why we came in here."

She just glared at them. "Why then?" she asked, still not happy.

"Dumbledore and Moody want to talk with you," James replied.

"What about?" she asked, suddenly feeling cautious about having lied to everyone today.

"We don't know," answered Sirius.

"We were just told to give you the message," added James. "They are waiting in the kitchen for you."

She sighed and got up, but not before Sirius grabbed her ankle causing her to jump. She slapped him on his shoulder before walking out of the living room after mumbling the words "annoying" and "git" which only caused James and Sirius to roar with laughter.

"What do you want?" Hope asked with a yawn, hoping to come off more as she was tired after the long day, which was somewhat true.

Dumbledore waved his hand so that the kitchen door closed. "I wanted to ask you want happened today," he said to her as he looked down at her.

"I already told Moody," she pointed out.

"I want to hear it from _you_," Dumbledore replied.

"Mike and Amelia were late. I felt uneasy being alone there and felt something coming. I got scared sent up the red sparks, as Mike told us too, and then shot a freezing spell where I was feeling something coming from. I made a mistake and I told everyone I was sorry. I didn't know it was just a stupid street rat okay."

Dumbledore watched his former student closely. "That's not like you to make such a mistake Hope," he replied.

"I was uneasy, I make mistakes okay," she said calmly wishing everyone would just drop the subject already.

Dumbledore looked at Moody, who said nothing, but left Hope alone with Dumbledore. "It's just me now," he told her. "I know you don't get scared that easily Hope. What's going on?"

"Nothing," she replied. "I just wish everyone would leave me alone already. I'm tired of explaining what happened today."

"You know you can tell me _anything_," he said watching her closely.

"Really want to know?" she asked him and he nodded. "I wish people would just accept what I did today and drop the subject. I feel stupid enough as it is for making such a mistake. Do you have any idea what they all probably think of me now?"

After a moment, Dumbledore dropped his gaze. "I won't bring it up again," he said to her. He walked over, placed his hand on her shoulder, and said in a voice that only she could hear, "I trust your judgment Hope." He could read more into what truly had happened that day than she would ever know. Then again, he had seen the signs even when she had been in school, even though she had yet to see it.

Hope watched Dumbledore leave the kitchen as she stood in shock from his last words. Had he known she wasn't telling the truth? She had thought she had done a pretty good job on the lies, even going as far to hexing an actual rat and sticking to her story no matter what. She even made sure to show how stupid she felt for having "screwed up" in such a way.

Hope decided to go up to her room while the others talked in the living room; she felt like being a lone. Her bedroom was what some would call the master bedroom; it had been Sirius idea for her to take that room since it had its own bathroom. She did like the walk-in-closet a lot more than she let on sometimes.

She sighed as she tired to relax in the hot bath water; her eyes closed as she took in a deep breath. She had lit a few scented candles to help her relax even more from all the stress of the day. It was harder too not think of everything that had happened, but Hope did her best to push all thoughts from her mind.

After the water became cooler and her fingers became all wrinkled, she decided to climb out of the tub; grapping her house rope as she let the water out. She did feel a little better now that was for sure. Before she started to towel dry her hair, she made sure all the candles were out as she always did.

Hope could hear footsteps downstairs so she knew people were still there, but she didn't feel up to going back down there tonight. Instead, she walked over to the bay window with her towel still in her hands drying her hair. They sky was clear and the moon was almost full which lit up the night as if it was almost day. Sitting down on the long cushion, she put her leg under her a little as she leaned against the side of the window. She loved the night especially on nights like this when the stars were all out shinning putting everything back in perspective.

There was a soft knock on the door followed by, "May I come in Hope?" It was Lily, but she didn't surprise Hope one bit; she had expected her to eventually make her way up to check in on her. Hope sighed.

"Come in," she said as she ran the towel over her hair once more.

"I brought you some tea," Lily said, caring a tray with two cups, a tea pot, and a few bags of Hope's favorite tea.

"Thanks," she replied, still looking out the window. She knew Lily wasn't going to leave just yet. No matter how much she truly wanted to alone tonight, it just wasn't going to happen it seemed.

"I thought after the day you had, that you might want some tea," Lily replied sweetly with a smile, but she knew quickly she wasn't fooling Hope as she handed her a cup of tea. "I'm sorry Hope; we're just all really worried about you."

"Well I _would_ be fine if everyone would just leave me alone," she stated as she took the cup for her friend.

"I just thought maybe you'd talked to me at the very least."

"Talk about what?"

"Today and what really happened."

"Why does everyone keep saying that to me? I am sick and tired of repeating myself already. I would be fine if everyone would just drop the subject of what happened today!"

"Hope, it's me you're talking to here, you don't have to keep things from me. You never have and I like it that way; just as I never keep things from you." Lily paused for a moment and decided to just come right out and say it. "I know you saw Severus today."

Hope looked at Lily in shock. How did she know that? Who told her? "What are you talking about Lily?" she asked her trying to act like she didn't know what her friend was talking about.

"Amelia told her brother and he told Dumbledore," Lily began.

"That figures," muffed Hope. "So why are telling me since you already know?"

"Dumbledore was hoping you might confide in me with whatever happened," Lily said, blushing a little from feeling a little silly. "He thought maybe you would open up more to me since for some reason you kept that part from everyone else."

"I don't see why that was important," Hope said with a shrug. She hadn't really thought of mentioning it since she had, had other things on her mind than having just walked into him on the street. "It had nothing to do with me screwing up."

Lily watched her friend closely knowing her well enough to know she was hiding something from her. "You could have at least told me," she pointed out.

"To be honest I did want to bring up his name especially with the _others_ around." It was somewhat the truth since she knew how James and Sirius would react to such news.

"And now?" asked Lily. "James and Sirius are talking with Dumbledore so they are to busy right now. Why would you not tell me you saw him? Did he _say_ something to you?"

"After how things went at Hogwarts with the two of you, I didn't think it was a good idea to bring up his name," she answered with another shrug. "No he didn't say anything to me." She suddenly found herself being defensive again; she knew where Lily was going with that question. "I walked into him and asked what he was doing there, he said he lived nearby and then we went on our way."

"That was all?" she asked remember what Dumbledore had said to her just moments ago.

"Pretty much, yeah."

"You know what they think about him don't you?"

"That he's a Death Eater because he's friends with Lucius Malfoy."

"So you didn't think it was important to tell us you ran into him today?"

"Oh come on Lily!" Hope replied defensively again. "You have known me for how long? Don't you think if I felt any sort of danger at all I would have told you guys right away? He went one way, I went another, and I didn't see him again or sense him being nearby. You know the whole story now, so can we please drop it?"

That was true and Lily knew it. "I'm sorry Hope. We're just all really worried about you, you know that. We love you and don't want anything bad to ever happen to you."

"I know," she replied calmly. "And you all know that I can take care of myself and if I felt I was in any kind of danger I would have not only told you, but I would have been out of there right then; you know that."

"Yeah, I'm sorry Hope," she replied again. "Forgive me?"

Hope smiled. "Of course!" The two girls giggled before Hope looked out the window again; her mind on the man she had seen just hours before.

"You won't keep anything else from me any more will you, not even if it's about Severus?" asked Lily sounding concerned.

"I won't," she said still looking about the window.

"Good," Lily said sounding much happier now and stared out of the window as she tried to block memories from their Hogwarts days from her mind.


	5. Chapter 5

**The Death of Lillian Hope Black-Snape**

**Chapter Five**

**Trust in time of War is most valuable**

In the next several weeks, Hope tried not to think about the events from her first patrol. Although, it seemed people were finally dropping the subject, at least when she was around. However, she had her first day off in weeks. Today was a day she could do something she hadn't had time for since leaving school; read up on her favorite subjects and study.

She was sitting in the living room reading from one of her old Potions books when James and Lily finally got there. Her feet where flat on the couch, her back against the arm of the couch, and her knees bend with the book resting on them.

"I should have known you'd be reading on your _only_ day off from work," laughed James with a kind and teasing smile at her.

Hope smiled at him. "You know me to well," she said with a laugh.

"What are you reading?" he asked looking down at the book after walking over to her.

"My old Potions book from my last year at Hogwarts," she answered with a smile. "I was having trouble remembering some of them and thought I would read to refresh my memory."

James couldn't help but laugh. "You'll never change," he said as he messed up her hair playfully. "So where's Sirius at?"

"Uhm, I think he's in the kitchen," she answered sounding a little unsure. "I've been reading for the last hour so I really don't know where he is."

"I'll go find him," he said before leaving Hope and Lily alone.

"Don't let him tease you to much about studying," Lily said as she sat down beside her friend. "He brags about how smart you are all the time."

"Don't worry I won't," Hope said before blushing at Lily's last comment. James, Remus, and Sirius were her brothers; even if they weren't blood related. Therefore, teasing each other was only in fun and she knew that. "Hey, will you quiz me like we used to before we'd have a test?"

"Sure," Lily beamed as she took the Potions book from Hope. She flipped through the pages before deciding on her first question. "What is 'bicorn'?"

"Bicorn is a powered horn used in making Polyjuice Potion," Hope said confidently.

"Right," Lily said before looking for what would be her next question. "Here we go. What three ingredients are used in making Confusing and Befuddlement Draught?"

Hope thought for a moment. "Scurvy-grass, sneezewort, and uhm," she paused for a moment. "Lovage."

"Right again," beamed Lily. Hope's knowledge often reminded her of someone else, but she tried not to think about it to much.

"Lily can I ask you something?" asked Hope as she rested her chin against her knees.

"Hmm?" Lily looked up from the book. "Oh, sure of course, you can ask me anything." She closed the book, but kept her finger on the page to bookmark where she was. "What's up?"

"Well something's been kind of… I don't know, bugging me lately and I can't talk to the others about what it is, especially Sirius," she began nervously. "I know how they'd react. So I though maybe you would, maybe be of more help; a different view on it I guess."

"Ah," replied Lily completely understanding and already having her suspicions on what, more like _whom_ this was going to be about after Hope's little run-in with him not to long ago. She set the book down on the table before pulling her wand out to cast a spell over the room so that James and Sirius would not be able to eavesdrop on them and a few other spells to warn them and block anyone from coming near the living room. "There now they can't overhear us." She smiled at Hope. "You can always talk to me about anything."

"Well….it's like this," began Hope not sure of how to go about this. "Something's been eating at me since the first day I went on patrol with Hatchfeild and Amelia."

"What's that?" asked Lily as she rested her arm on the back of the couch so that she was facing her friend.

"Well you know that I've always been able to sense things about everyone. You've know that for as long as I've known you. I've never been wrong, not even once. I can tell when a person has a good soul, when they don't, and even when they are up to something; even if I can't always tell what that might be. Sometimes with some people I can't always tell if they have a good soul or not, but I just can tell when I don't trust someone, like with Peter. I mean I know that James and Sirius trust him, even Remus and you, but whenever I'm around him I just get this feeling that something's not right and I can't trust him no matter how hard I try."

"I am guessing that you doubt your abilities again?" asked Lily. Knowing her friend as well as she did; it was easy to figure out what was bothering her.

"Some thing like that," she admitted. She closed her eyes for a moment. "But it's more like I'm conflicted with what I felt and what I believe or believed; or maybe what others lead me to believe… I don't know."

"So what you're saying is that the feeling you got about someone is different from what you believed or others have lead you to believe?"

"Pretty much…"

"Well I say just believe in your own abilities. They have never led you wrong before so I doubt they will lead you wrong now."

After a long silence of contemplating what Lily had had said, Hope looked up at her again with her chin resting on her knees once again. "Can I ask you something else Lily; even if it's about the person we try not to bring up, especially around you?"

"Of course you can, you know that. It doesn't matter to me if you need to talk about him or anyone else for that matter. You're my friend and I will always be here to listen to you."

"Do you think there is any possibility that there is any good in Sev…Snape? I mean you knew him longer than any one I know of and were close friends with him for a long time."

Lily seemed to grow quiet for a long time, no longer facing her friend, and Hope began to feel as though she had said something wrong. "Lily, I'm sorry; you don't have to answer… I should never have brought him up. I'm sorry, I really am."

"It's not that, I don't mind honestly," Lily said looking down at the floor. "To be quite honest with you, I knew you were going to bring this up eventually after Dumbledore and Moody told us what happened that day." She turned to face Hope once more. "I've been wondering about it all since that day; how I was going to answer you, if I even could answer you." She placed a hand on Hope's arm. "I have _never_ doubted your abilities, even when you doubted them yourself and I don't think I ever will. There are very few in this world that I trust in as much as I do you. You can see things deep inside of people that no one else can; it's a rare ability and a pretty great one to have. I still remember in school when Severus and I were still friends; you stood up for u…him no matter what the others said about him. Even after I stopped being his friend, you went out of your way to keep the others from saying or doing anything to him when you were around."

Noticing the look in Hope's eyes, she laughed softly. "Yes I noticed. I'm not as oblivious as the boys were…are. I also-after getting to know more about you and even to this day-never fully believed you did all that just for me. I believed even back then, that you saw _some_ good in him-despite knowing what the people he hung around were capable of and did-and being the person you are, no matter what the person has done or said, if you see good in them you cannot help but to stand up for them. So to answer your question Hope; you have already told me the answer yourself, even back then. You see good in him, therefore so do I; that is my answer."

Hope stared at Lily for a moment and then gave her a half smile. "You've really thought long and hard about that haven't you?"

Lily only nodded, before adding, "When Dumbledore told us what happened and Moody said you had seen him, but you didn't feel danger or anything coming from him; I knew you would start doubting your abilities just like you have before. I spent many hours trying to figure out the same question I knew were you going to be asking me; it wasn't easy, but I always came back to that same answer. Never doubt yourself Hope, never no matter what. Will you promise me that? And if you do promise me, I want you to remember this one thing; I will always trust and believe in not only your abilities but in you as a person as well. You're my best friend Hope and have been for a very long time."

"I'll do my best," beamed Hope before giving Lily a hug. "Thank you, talking to you has truly helped a lot. I don't know what I would ever do without you."

"Any time," Lily beamed back. Just as she reached for the Potions book again, they heard a loud crash followed by a few mumbled swear words.

Both Lily and Hope started to laugh once the heard the voice and put together what just happened.

"Maybe we should have warned the boys about the spell before we placed it?" laughed Hope.

"Maybe," Lily replied still laughing as well, before taking the spells off the living room.

"What the bloody hell was all that about?" snapped Sirius when he stepped into the living room, his shirt covered in tea.

"Sorry Padfoot, I needed some girl talk time with Lily," answered Hope.

"We should have warned you first, we're sorry," added Lily.

"You think?" growled Sirius as James walked in to see what was going on.

"Do I even want to know?" laughed James looking at Sirius' shirt and the girls, who were trying hard not to laugh anymore.

"Girl talk apparently," Sirius answered before using a spell to clean the tea off of his shirt.

"That would explain the spells around the living room then," noted James.

"You knew?" glared Sirius. "Then why didn't you tell me?"

"I aimed to come back in here before I found you and ran into the spell….I thought you knew," he shrugged before flopping down on the couch beside Lily.

"Next time tell me anyway," he replied.

"I'll go make us some tea and clean up Sirius' mess in the hallway," stated Hope as she got up. "It's probably the least I can do after causing it."

"Want any help?" asked Lily, wondering if Hope just needed to be alone for a few minutes after having her question answered or if she was just feeling bad about having not warned the boys first.

"Nah, I can handle it," she answered as she got to the doorway. She turned back and smiled at Lily to let her know why as she added, "Thanks for offering anyway." She knew the smile would let Lily know she just needed some time alone to think; even if it was just a few minutes.

It was hard to wrap her mind around everything that had happened, but she knew with a friend like Lily around she would always have someone to confide in. However even while waiting for the water to get hot, she couldn't shake this other feeling that had been growing inside of her lately. She was still unsure of what it was or even how to explain it to anyone, even Lily, to try to figure it out. _In time_, she told herself as she took the tray of cups and tea into the living room.


End file.
